I want to fight // Genshin Oc insert //

Chapter 17

I lied awake in my bed, Hotomi fast asleep in the next room. Thoughts were pooling in my head like water. I missed my bed back home, even if it came with the fear my mom would come in and start yelling at me for something that isn't my fault. I missed my friends already, but most of all, I missed Master Haru. Because Saki, Yuki, Asahi, Thoma, Ayaka, and Ayato are safe and sound, but he's gone. The emptiness was overbearing. The silence was screaming in my ears and I felt as if the world had ended around me, so I go outside for a second just to confirm it hasn't. The salty breeze played gently with my hair from the doorstep. I wasn't home anymore, that's for sure. It hasn't hit me until now that I don't know when I'll see my friends again, if at all. There's so many people I haven't said goodbye to. Chiori, Kenji, Ao, Aoi, the nice old hags who always asked how my day was when I saw them around town, the people who were nice to me in the shrine, including the Lady Guuji, Taroumaru, my dad...

 The salty air tasted admittedly kind of gross on my mouth. But it was new and fresh, so at least there was that. I would've gone insane if I had to spend another second making stupid offerings and weaving straw baskets like a good little shrine maiden. I basked in my newfound independance, but also felt kind of lost without authority. It's a strange mix. I suddenly hear someone walking down the path, followed by a chipper voice just a little too loud to be polite in a residential neighbourhood in the dead of night. Is neighbourhood the right word? Probably not, but I'm too tired to care. I look for the source of the noise only for it to be the one and only Paimon accompanied by a weary Lumine. 
"Hey guys," I said drowsily. "Why are you up so late?"
"Hilichurl camp nearby," Explained the blonde curtly "We had to clear it out."
"Now?"
"Yep."
"That's brutal." I said.
"What are you doing up?" Lumine asked.
"Just... Thinking..." I drawled, staring at a spot right beside Lumine's head. She looked for a moment to see whatever she thought I was looking at. It's nothing, just a comfortable angle to rest my neck at. 

 "Oh, I forgot to ask, how did you get your vision?" Paimon intervened.
"Fight with my mom after the guy who taught me how to fight passed." I replied, not prolonging my answer more than I needed to. I saw Lumine's face full of worry, but before she could say anything, I replied, "I'm fine. I'm holding up okay."
"You sure?" She asked. I confirmed with a nod.
"Anyways, get to bed, it's late." I command. She laughs and waves as she walks away. Sleep sounds really good right now, so I go inside and rest.

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I woke up the next morning to the delicious smell of breakfast wafting through the thin walls of the small house. My stomach growled in protest, reminding me that I'd skipped dinner the night before. I get out of my room to see Hotomi making an omelette in the kitchen. This moment was oddly, comforting. I felt like I was home without any of the trauma attached.

I watched Hotomi quietly as she moved around the kitchen, her back to me, humming a tune I couldn't quite place. The smell of the omelette filled the room, rich and savory, making my stomach twist with hunger. The way the light streamed through the window, casting a warm glow on her and the room around us, almost made me forget about everything outside. Almost. I quickly reminded myself that I was part of the war effort, and anything I ate was purely for fuel because I was incredibly committed to my tough-guy persona.
"Morning." I grumble. Hotomi gives me a nod of acknowlagement before setting one of two plates she was holding in front of me
"Big day." She comments. I nod as I take a forkful of the omelette into my mouth.

"Yeah, big day," I echoed, though the words felt hollow. The omelette was warm and savory, but, my one track-mind  it tasted like nothing. I chewed mechanically, my mind already elsewhere. Today would be different—no more lying around, staring at ceilings, and drowning in thoughts that wouldn't stop circling. It was time to get back to the mission, to the war effort. That's why I was here in the first place, after all. But something about Hotomi's calmness made me pause, like a part of me didn't want to step back into the chaos just yet.